Mr Padfield’s Blog: Reflecting on my first week as Headteacher

Thank you all so much for the support and kind words I have received since the news of my appointment went out to the Elmhurst Community. I have been overwhelmed by the number of handshakes and congratulations I have had…now the hard work begins.

I have been reflecting on my first week officially in this role and I have to say that I am so proud to have been appointed Headteacher of this wonderful school. I drove the minibus on Tuesday to drop the Reception class at the woods for their Forest School session and the boys were so excited by the prospect of carrying out experiments and making ‘things’ with the mud. Needless to say, when I picked them up, they were full of stories of volcanoes erupting and the making of mud creatures, their faces said it all. Those boys were smiling from ear to ear, and they had been learning. They understood that if you work together and talk about what you are doing, then you can be creative and solve problems, as well as have fun.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Neagu for her total dedication to the boys and their development in Maths. She has not only transformed the Maths curriculum by bringing in ‘Inspire Maths’, she also organised and hosted the Maths Challenge held here at Elmhurst School. One of our teams finished in ‘joint’ first and the other came second. The Year 5 team of Tushan, Shraven, Ethan and Yipeng also won the Regional Maths Challenge at Royal Russell beating the second placed team by 20 clear points, which was an amazing achievement!

In assembly on Monday, the Allen brothers talked about how they had baked cakes and biscuits and sold them to their family and neighbours to raise money for Joshua’s Orphanage. I was very humbled and moved by what they had done as well as proud of the fact that they are Elmhurst boys. They reflected the understanding of what it is to be global citizens.

As we approach the second half of the final term of this year the boys are reaping the benefits of the contribution of the Elmhurst Friends Association (EFA). The Form Tutors have been arranging educational trips to places such as Hampton Court (Year 4), Godstone Farm (Reception) and The Globe Theatre (Year 6). All of our boys will benefit from the contribution made by the EFA for these trips and for their continued support we are all extremely grateful. I look forward to seeing as many of the Elmhurst School Community supporting the EFA at the upcoming Summer Fayre.

I am sure you all understand when reading this, why I feel so proud to be the Headteacher of Elmhurst School for Boys.

Posted on 1st Feb 2018 | Headmaster's Blog

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